What counts as good evidence? Issued on 2013 by Research Unit for Research Utilisation (RURU)

Making better use of evidence is essential if public services are to deliver more for less. Central to this challenge is the need for a clearer understanding about standards of evidence that can be applied to the research informing social policy. This paper reviews the extent to which it is possible to reach a workable consensus on ways of identifying and labelling evidence. It does this by exploring the efforts made to date and the debates that have ensued. Throughout, the focus is on evidence that is underpinned by research, rather than other sources of evidence such as expert opinion or stakeholder views

This is a paper for discussion. The authors would welcome comments, which should be emailed to: smn@st–andrews.ac.uk or Jonathan.Breckon@nesta.org.uk 

The paper presents the views of the authors and these do not necessarily reflect the views of the Alliance for Useful Evidence or its constituent partners. The Alliance champions the use of evidence in social policy and practice. We are an open–access network of individuals from across government, universities, charities, business and local authorities in the UK and internationally. The Alliance provides a focal point for advancing the evidence agenda, developing a collective voice, whilst aiding collaboration and knowledge sharing, through debate and discussion